Former West Ham boss Bilic slams the owners

Bengaluru, December 17: Former West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has hit back at West Ham chairman David Sullivan's claims that the Croatian was responsible for poor signings.

In the aftermath of Bilic getting the boot by the Hammers, Sullivan spoke openly about how many of the summer transfers did not work out to be good business.

In particular, the West Ham chairman criticised the signings of Jose Fonte and Robert Snodgrass, players he says were identified by Bilic.

Yet the co-owner was quick to take praise for signing the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Dimitri Payet.

And now Bilic has responded, believing he is being made a scapegoat for the club's transfer dealings.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the 49-year-old, Bilic said: 'West Ham is my club. I am not afraid of confrontation but I don’t want it with people I got on with for two years.

"But again I have to say something,’ he says. 'To say all the good players were him, and the bad signings were me is kind of low. And it’s simply not true."

"I am not going to take credit for everything but I don’t want to take all the blame either.

"Fonte and Snodgrass came in January. We were losing Payet and Ogbonna was having an operation, and of course the budget was limited. So we got those two new players.

"To criticise them is unfair. They came to a club in a difficult situation and helped us finish 11th so they played their part."

Sullivan, speaking previously about the Hammers work in transfer market said: “We have spent big money on players the manager wanted.

“I don’t veto signings unless we cannot afford them.

“We paid £20million for Andre Ayew, £20m for Arnautovic. This is huge money, then we have to pay their wages.

“We brought in Simone Zaza and he could not score a goal. He’s gone to Valencia and now he’s one of the leading scorers in the league.”

Bilic is still without a job after he was sacked by West Ham and wants time before choosing his next venture.